4th of July Challenge
by Marvelgeek42
Summary: A collection of ten unconnected stories for the 4th of July Event at TGS. Chapter 1 features a Character Death
1. Red, White, And Blue

**Word Count: 303**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (Colours) Red, White, And Blue**

* * *

.

 _Red_

.

His hair, his wonderful wonderful hair. That's what the color would always remind him of. The hair of his last love, Louis Weasley.

The way that he had grown it out while they were together. It usually was held back in a ponytail, but fell over his shoulders whenever he grew really focused, because he would pull at it in frustration.

The way it tingled in his face when they were lying in bed on early mornings, Louis propped up on his elbows and moving his finger over Jeremy's naked torso.

Those had been nice times and Jeremy wished he could return to them.

.

 _White_

.

Many people said that white wasn't even a colour, but they were wrong.

White was a colour, and it was a cruel, unforgiving one.

It was the colour of the snow that ended his life.

Jeremy had stumbled into a mess of an epic calibre completely by accident. He had been in Diagon Alley and he had noticed that he was still missing a present for his mother's birthday a day later, so he had stumbled into the first shop he could find—his mother was a Muggle, anything magical would excite her.

He didn't even get a chance to see what was going on before he was stunned.

.

 _Blue_

.

When Jeremy opened his eyes again, his hands are already freezing and blue. There was no doubt that they were going to turn black in no time, nor was there any chance that the rest of his body looked any differently.

All he could see was snow and ice.

He tried to reach for his wand, but even if it was there, he was too frozen to move.

This would be the death of him, no matter what he tried.

.

 _Black_

.

The last thing he would ever see.


	2. Family Barbecue

**Word Count: 359**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (scenario) a family barbecue receives an unexpected guest**

* * *

The Annual Potter/Weasley/Granger Family Barbecue—the caps were very important—is a tradition started by Hermione's parents between their third and fourth year.

They had wanted to be included in the world of their daughter and they wanted to meet her friends.

So they had Hermione send owls to the Weasleys and the Potter twins, Harry and Jasminder, asking them to when they would be available to come over to her house.

The Weasleys replied that they were ready to go whenever and that Mrs. Weasley would gladly help in any way they needed.

The Potters' answer, however, worried Hermione's parents. Their relatives wouldn't let them leave the house to enjoy themselves and—somehow making this seem like a crime—eat.

Daniel and Emma Granger couldn't let this stand.

They called in a few favours, asked around at their contacts, and managed to legally adopt the two before the summer ended.

And that was used as the reason to finally start the Barbecue.

The russet skilled boy volunteered to help cooking, swearing up and down that, yes, he was doing this because he enjoyed it and for no other reason whatsoever.

The fact that his twin sister was goofing around with Ginny certainly helped.

There was no one who argued Arthur's proposal for this to become an annual thing and it expanded every year.

Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Fleur Delacour Weasley were just some of those who joined over the years.

Jasminder, personally, would say that she and Ginny had managed to cause the most surprise with their special guest—even beating Hermione bringing Draco Malfoy the year before.

Their special guest was their daughter, Neha, who they had adopted after one of the cousins the Potter's found on their father's side passed away, leaving poor young Neha an orphan.

Harry and Luna would gladly have taken her in, but Jasminder persuaded her twin with the simple argument that he already had a few kids running around and she had none.

Still, it had only been a week ago that that happened, so it was quite the surprise for most attendees.

A welcome one, though.


	3. Fireworks

**Word Count: 340**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (task) Fireworks: Write about the Weasley twin's business**

* * *

There were many things one could say about Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, but _boring_ is most certainly not one of them.

In fact, that word is almost the antonym to this fantastical and quite possibly insane business.

A Muggle scientist would most likely have an emotional breakdown and/or an existential crisis upon entering the store, even if they had already progressed the existence of magic. Even to a magical mind, this store seemed odd.

It had a weird feel, one that went far beyond the fact that it was bigger on the inside and other common things.

The moving stairs, while not seen as much as other things, had still been seen before. Just about everything but the products they were selling had appeared somewhere or other before, it was simply the combination of all of them that made it feel so very off.

At least that's what most people who entered their store rationalized.

The truth, well, no one knew all of it. The twins, George and Fred, knew more than their workers, who in turn knew more than the customers, but not even they knew all of it.

How were they to know what exactly made it so special?  
How were they to know that their chosen location for the shop to be built was at the very place the hut of Hunith had stood one millennium and a half before?

The village had been destroyed around the time of the Founders and all knowledge of the magical importance of this particular spot of earth had been lost long before then.

It was impossible for everyone to know.

Everyone, except one.

Merlin still lived, after all, and he never forgot where he had been born. He didn't engage with the magical society all that much for various reasons, but he visited the spot sometimes.

And seeing a prank store built there, something made to brighten moods and bring joy to people's lives made him smile.

He gave the blessing that still lingered in the ground a small push.


	4. Parade

**Word Count: 309**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (word) parade**

* * *

It was during the month of October in their first year at Hogwarts.

Remus was sitting on a chair in their dorm and reading in a book his mother had sent him, while James, Peter, and Sirius were planning a prank that he couldn't help but overhear.

They didn't seem to mind, because it was targeted at an upper year Hufflepuff that had insulted Peter last week, but Remus just couldn't help but express his thoughts on that matter, even if he himself didn't know why.

"Now, I don't want to rain on your parade, but are you sure this is a smart idea?"

"Of course it is," James dismissed Remus's comment. "I had it."  
"I'm not saying that the basics of the idea are horrible," Remus explained, "because it#s not. Far from it, actually. Just the execution leaves a bit to wish for."

"What do you know?" Sirius snorted. "It's not like you ever pranked anyone before."

"That you know of," Remus corrected, even if Sirius's assessment was correct. "It's not like you've been with me all my life to check."  
"He has a point there," Peter acknowledged.

"But why haven't you played a prank here then?" James challenged.

"Maybe I was waiting for the right opportunity. Maybe I was trying to get everyone to trust me so that I could seem innocent. Maybe I have another reason that I won't tell you." Remus shrugged. "It's not like it's important. What's important is that I can help you improve this.  
"Alright, say we trust you on this," Sirius asked hesitantly, trading looks with Peter and James, "What would you propose we do differently?"

Remus gave them his widest grin. "I was starting to think you would never ask." He threw his book onto his bed and sat down next to them. "What you need to do is…"


	5. Ilvermorny

**Word Count: 329**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (setting) Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

* * *

The school of Ilvermorny was similar to Hogwarts in many ways—it _had_ been modeled after the British school for a reason—and different in others.

One of such differences was the class of Stealth Magic.  
It was required after Rappaport's Law was enacted in 1790 and hiding became more necessary than ever.

If you weren't allowed to interact with a non-maj more than absolutely necessary, you wanted to keep that to an absolute minimum after all. Otherwise someone might suspect you're breaking the law and that wasn't particularly something anyone could want, in Laurens Hamilton's opinion.

He really didn't like the law, because it forbid him from talking to his family, as he did come from a family of No-Majs.

But Laurens was a resourceful young man and he had a plan.

He paid close attention in the Stealth Magic class and worked as hard for it as his grandfather had done for absolutely anything. This resulted in Laurens constantly topping the class and being more advanced than it—at times, he was quite possibly more advanced than the year above him.

Laurens, however, didn't intend use those skills to hide from No-Majs.

He would use it to get a second wand so that he still had one when the teachers collected wands for the holidays.

Then, he would use it to ward his house—and his grandmother Eliza's house—in every way he could, so that the Magical Congress of the United States, the MACUSA, wouldn't be able to detect Laurens doing anything wrong.

And since Laurens was pretty much the picture perfect student, no one ever suspected him.

His near studying in the library where he made all of his research and plan, well that was simply him working hard for his future.

In a way those fools were right, yes, but Laurens certainly wasn't going to be the one to inform them of the things they got wrong.

Let them underestimate him.

They would see how wrong they were eventually.


	6. Picnic

**Word Count: 309**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (word) parade**

* * *

It was during the month of October in their first year at Hogwarts.

Remus was sitting on a chair in their dorm and reading in a book his mother had sent him, while James, Peter, and Sirius were planning a prank that he couldn't help but overhear.

They didn't seem to mind, because it was targeted at an upper year Hufflepuff that had insulted Peter last week, but Remus just couldn't help but express his thoughts on that matter, even if he himself didn't know why.

"Now, I don't want to rain on your parade, but are you sure this is a smart idea?"

"Of course it is," James dismissed Remus's comment. "I had it."  
"I'm not saying that the basics of the idea are horrible," Remus explained, "because it#s not. Far from it, actually. Just the execution leaves a bit to wish for."

"What do you know?" Sirius snorted. "It's not like you ever pranked anyone before."

"That you know of," Remus corrected, even if Sirius's assessment was correct. "It's not like you've been with me all my life to check."  
"He has a point there," Peter acknowledged.

"But why haven't you played a prank here then?" James challenged.

"Maybe I was waiting for the right opportunity. Maybe I was trying to get everyone to trust me so that I could seem innocent. Maybe I have another reason that I won't tell you." Remus shrugged. "It's not like it's important. What's important is that I can help you improve this.  
"Alright, say we trust you on this," Sirius asked hesitantly, trading looks with Peter and James, "What would you propose we do differently?"

Remus gave them his widest grin. "I was starting to think you would never ask." He threw his book onto his bed and sat down next to them. "What you need to do is…"


	7. Independence

**Word Count: 303**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (word) independence**

* * *

The subject of History of Magic was laughable at Hogwarts.

This was no surprise for anyone who had attended since the mid-1700s when Cuthbert Binns had first started teaching.

Year after year the students wondered just what they were supposed to learn from this man—or ghosts in later years—when all he was doing was telling the same facts about the goblin revolutions again and again in every year.

Sure, these revolutions were important—every aspect of history was in some way—but with the way Binns was teaching, the students might as well skip the lessons.  
And that was exactly what students started doing.

It started with a single Ravenclaw who got tired and started to research in the library instead.

Since he got away with it, others soon followed.

Incredibly, the students—not all of them, yes, but a surprisingly high number—actually studied history. Students strolled through the library and pulled out history books at random intervals.

It became a game at one point. Who could find the most interesting fact or theory?

There was a whole jury and a point system and everything set up. Presentation mattered just as much as reliability of the source and the fact/theory itself.

The debates that followed became more and more interesting the more the knowledge of the students expanded. Every fact was looked at from many different perspectives and a number of friendships formed during those sessions.

There was no one who disagreed with the fact that independent study was so much better than Binns' lessons had ever been.

No one, except for the teachers.

Eventually they caught on and a high percentage of them didn't seem to see any value in what the students were doing for some inexplicable reason.

Everything was shut down and the students had to attend Binns' classes again.

...for now.


	8. Dialogue

**Word Count: 313**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (dialogue) "Well, well, well, look who it is: our neighbour from across the pond." / "Actually, it's more of an ocean."**

* * *

Mark entered the location of the meeting slightly late, but honestly, it wasn't his fault. Traveling across the Atlantic always took time, even with the benefit of magic. The portkey itself took almost half a minute instead of the usual instantaneous transportation and it didn't erase the need for border control.

Mark was willing to swear up and down that he must've gotten the slowest worker out of all those present. The others handled three to five people in the time he was processed from what he spotted, and it wasn't like he had gotten the attention of the law in a bad way.

At least, not that he was aware of, which sadly didn't mean as much as it was supposed to.

But now, finally, he had been able to apparate to the house his two friends shared.

The front door was wide open, although that didn't Mark fool for a second.

He stepped inside, yes, but he did so slowly and carefully wand always at ready to dispel the numerous traps that were no doubt hidden in the room.

Mark had gotten as far as two feet into the room and past twelve traps when he heard a voice directly behind him. "Well, well, well, look who it is."

He turned around and just then, Fabian Prewett appeared out of nowhere. That, by itself was a completely average thing, but the fact that it was not accompanied by the signature pop of apparition.

"Our neighbour from across the pond,"his twin Gideon finished the statement as he hung from the ceiling, head closer to the floor.

"Actually," Mark corrected with a smile, "it's more of an ocean. But I suppose it's an easy mistake to make when sharing two brain cells between the two of you."  
"Oi," Gideon protested. "I'll have you know we're very intelligent."

Mark snorted. "Sure you are."


	9. 1776

**Word Count: 310**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (era) 1776 (or there abouts)**

* * *

The winter of 1777/1778 wasn't easy on the Continental Army for a number of reasons.

There was barely any food, disease was rampant, and it was so _cold_.

But that wasn't actually the thing that bothered William Smith the most.

No, he could live with those things. A few Pepper Up potions here and there, a warming charm on his tent—it would have been to suspicious on his clothes—and the occasional—weak—multiplying charm on the food.

The problem was that his tent was placed to a certain pair of General Washington's aides-de-camp, namely John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton.

And—there was no other way to describe this—the two were driving him _insane_.

Not only was Hamilton _constantly_ talking, there was no doubt the two of them were engaging in other activities.

Activities, that were technically illegal, but then again, so was him using magic here, so Willaim really had no room to talk. Especially since both things would get them hung if their superiors ever found out.

In conclusion, William really wasn't one to judge.

He was simply annoyed that they had to do it so loudly every. Single. Night.

Frankly, it was a wonder word hadn't gotten around to some of the more religious fellows. The placement of the tents certainly seemed to be on their side—and, in a way, WIlliam's as well.

But Hamilton and Laurens caused him to quickly run out of patience. He needed his sleep, Morgana be damned!

Sometimes, he was tempted to silence Hamilton permanently, because that way he could at least sleep sometimes.

That, however, would be far too obvious, so he had to settle on something else.

Putting all of his knowledge to work, William worked on a selective silencing charm. It took him weeks and weeks, but he did eventually figure it out.

And once he was done, he could finally sleep.


	10. Firework - Katy Perry

**Word Count: 313**

 **For the _4th of July Event_ at _The Golden Snitch._ For Vladimiranova, Koldovstoretz**

 **Prompt: (song) 'Firework' – Katy Perry**

* * *

Quite frankly, Harry was sick of it all.

Sick of the hunger and the pain.

Sick of the oversized clothes and lack of space and sun his cupboard offered.

Sick of being pushed around and being forced to work like a slave for the Dursleys.

Sick of being pressured into performing worse in school than he actually was.

Sick of having no friends, as all fellow students at his school fell for the ruse the Dursleys had set up just as the teachers and neighbours did.

Sick of having no choices, no control whatsoever over his own life.

Granted, he was only seven years old and at that age there wasn't all that much he could have control over, but even those minuscule amounts were taken from him.

And so, Harry made the decision to run away.

It wasn't even a hard decision. This house had never been his home and the people inside it might have been related, but they weren't family.  
Every single thing he owned fit in his backpack for school.

What reason could he have to stay?

So he ran.

He ran and he ran and he ran.

He ran, without knowing where he was going.

He ran faster than it should be possible.

He ran until he was so tired that he collapsed.

And then he fell asleep right there and then.

When he woke up again, he was in a small cottage and a man that felt vaguely familiar for some reason was leaning over him.

"Hello Harry. I see you are awake now. Maybe you can explain why I found you passed out in my garden this morning. Shouldn't you be with your relatives?"  
"I ran away," Harry explained. "And also, sorry, but who are you?"

"My name is Remus Lupin. I suppose I can't expect you to remember me. You were quite small after all."


End file.
